Chapter 124: A treat for a Guide simply doing his best

When they finally left the Chronos Guild it wasn’t super late in the day like he had anticipated. Instead, it was only late afternoon, the sun was still out, and the visit to the Chronos Guild felt too normal.

Granted, they had to harm and kill people who had gone after their lives, but with the speed that had been cleaned up, Brent had essentially forgotten that. The Captain had even suggested that they take the elevators, and Brent almost agreed. But something told him not to.

So, they left the Guild by the stairs, the same way that they had come in, and Esper Harris carried Mr. Caulder down the stairs for the older man’s safety. Brent knew he was already going to ache tomorrow anyways, it was better to save him any more pain now.

Brent was a little on alert, but with Colby already injured, Brent knew that at the very least, there wasn’t another teleporter around. That did mean that his guard was down slightly. So much so that it was a surprise to Brent that Esper Parker halted everyone before they got into their cars. Brent had never considered something like that, hadn’t had to come face to face with it.

After all, bombs were a very inefficient way to kill someone if you wanted them dead on the front lines. If you wanted them dead, you just sent them into a Gate with less supplies and shitty support.

It was Esper Parker who insisted on the check, and the other Lieutenants weren’t surprised in the slightest. Apparently, he was the best at checking the cars due to his abilities, and Brent was beginning to suspect that the reason why Espers with Dark powers were looked down upon was because they were few in numbers and very powerful.

He was thorough in his checks, triple checking all cars that they were traveling with and made sure that they weren’t rigged or tampered with. They weren’t, which was honestly a bit of a miracle. Brent now knew that that was something he was going to have to look out for.

…If Sergei was here he wouldn’t have to worry about taking a car ever again.

Brent tucked that thought away as soon as he had it, knowing that the team were taking very good care of him when it came to his safety. Esper Parker was also the one who was seriously protecting him, and also talking Aunt Dina down from her crazier attempts. The others seemed to be…more careful around Aunt Dina, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was because they hadn’t known her as long. Or that there was some kind of different connection between Aunt Dina and Esper Parker when compared to the other Lieutenants.

While Esper Harris, Esper Gardner and Esper Dickenson were older and closer to Aunt Dina’s age along with Esper Parker, there was a bit of distance between them. Well, besides Esper Dickenson, but Brent was pretty sure that was just a Healer thing.

Similar to how the Healer from the Chronos Guild had tried to get close to Brent while the others had been working. Healers just had their ways, Brent guessed.

Brent had a feeling that the string of his thoughts originated from the fact that he’d never had to worry about car bombs, tampering, or anything like that even back in Kellen’s hometown. The E.A.G. over there, while slimy, had been rather straightforward. Shooting attempts had been their M.O. not anything sneaky like car bombs.

Brent had a feeling that they would become something common, and something that Brent should warn the others about if they hadn’t already been warned.

He still didn’t have a phone, which was a little upsetting, but then again, he didn’t remember anyone’s damn phone number. He couldn’t message anyone anyways, and Aunt Dina was holding onto her phone like it was a damn holy grail or some shit. It was annoying, but her right.

Even if it did make Brent feel alienated from the people that he wanted to speak to.

It wouldn’t have mattered much anyways, since Sergei wasn’t even back from the front lines. He was still there, keeping everything locked down and safe. They had experienced a monster stampede at the same time that a gate had…surged? Freaked out? Lost it’s damn mind?

Whatever had happened, Sergei was caring enough that he wanted to make sure that nothing else happened. Brent was a bit disappointed that he wasn’t able to contact him, even if Sergei had been probing the Phoenix Guild for information. His probing wasn’t the same as Brent probing. After all, they had a time difference, and he only had a few of the higher ups’ phone numbers.

Brent knew that Aunt Dina was still fielding his phone calls. It was frustrating, but not something that Brent could control.

Esper Parker’s extra care was appreciated, and soon Brent and the others were on their way back to the Phoenix Guild. Brent had even managed to negotiate going through a drive through to pick up some food he’d been craving. Brent knew that he only got him to do so because Brent didn’t have to get out of the car.

Brent was feeling that the day had gone very well, and it was only a short half an hour after they had left the Chronos Guild that they were back at the Phoenix Guild and giving a debrief to a very anxious Aunt Dina.

She’d apparently been pacing the floor of her apartment, and Brent was a little alarmed that he could see the pathway. Her footsteps had literally melted the floor slightly, and Brent had to wonder how much of the building had to be fireproof because of her, and how much that shit cost?

Thank goodness that Rhys was a time Esper. He could just fix whatever the fuck he did, to a point. Brent had seen some of the messed up generators that Rhys had worked on. Some of them felt like they should be able to talk, and that was a concept that Brent gleefully pushed to the back of his brain and locked away forever.

His best friend’s partner being able to create sentient life? No thanks. Cut that shit out immediately.

After the debrief, Brent, Esper Parker and Esper Tracer tried to soothe Aunt Dina. She did smile when she heard what Esper Parker had done to Colby, and then frowned again when she heard that Brent had stopped him.

That was until Brent explained his reason behind it, and there was a small hint of fear in her eyes as she stared at him.

“It is upsetting that you two are brothers, but it’s even more upsetting when I can see how you two are brothers.” She muttered. Brent wouldn’t lie and say that didn’t hurt, but how could he deny it? Even his own father thought that they were both monsters of his making, just at different degrees.

Thankfully, soothing Aunt Dina didn’t take long, but going over what Mr. Caulder and Esper Gardner had done while Brent was entertaining the others, did take a while. Brent did his best to pay attention, truly he did, but his mind was at it’s limit. He needed a break.

He’d been absorbed in all of this for so long without a break that the others could tell. He’d barely taken advantage of the ’freedom’ that he’d been given by the others. He’d noticed how tight his face had gotten, and how he’d lost weight due to stress. It wasn’t because he wasn’t eating enough, he was eating enough to make Kellen proud.

Sometimes, though, the body took over even when it came to the powers awakened in them.

Maybe that was why when Aunt Dina felt her pocket vibrate, she didn’t immediately hang up. She scowled, but that was nothing new when she looked at her phone. Brent was used to it at this point.

Aunt Dina just didn’t like phone calls if they weren’t from the people she personally cared about.

Brent had moved to the couch, leaning back, his hand casually covering his eyes as he put his feet up and forced himself to relax. His body was so tense that even on the soft cushions, his body wouldn’t calm down. His thigh pulsed, his missing arm ached, and Brent’s heavy sigh was a little too loud in the suddenly still air.

“Brent, the phone’s for you.” Aunt Dina muttered and Brent glanced at her, disbelieving. He stared up at her, the angle meaning that she was at a different height then normal and Brent gave her a forced, lazy smile.

They all liked it better when he was smiling.

“Oh? Is it Henry again?” Brent asked, teasing. “Has he called to check and make sure that you’re not falling into old habits?” Brent joked. He watched as the older woman’s left eye twitched, but she didn’t flush. Instead, her grip on the phone tightened slightly.

“No. It’s not Henry.” She said carefully and Brent’s eyes widened slightly.

“Kellen?” He asked and then her lips twitched.

“No. It’s not Kellen. Try again.” Brent went down the list, trying to think of who would call him. For some damn reason, he couldn’t, wouldn’t think that it was Sergei again. They had never linked up until now, so it wasn’t even on his radar.

“Hill?” He said carefully, disbelieving that she would ever call him. Aunt Dina grinned, shoving the phone into his hand. It was clear that his inability to guess who was on the other line was thrilling to her, making her very excited.

“No. It’s Captain Sergei of the Nemesis Guild.” Brent’s jaw dropped at her words, the phone that was now in his hand scalding.

“What?” Brent asked, his face white. Aunt Dina’s smile immediately faded, worry replacing it but before she could get another word in, Brent had scurried off to the bathroom for a semblance of privacy.

Brent worried that the phone had gone too quiet, he also had worried that he slammed the door too loudly behind him. The sound of the lock clicking into place was loud, his heart even louder in his chest. Sergei had called.

Sergei had called and he had gotten through? Brent had so many questions, so many things he wanted to say.

He raised the phone to his ear, his back pressed against the back of the bathroom door as he stared unseeing at the interior.

“Hello?” Brent asked, his voice quiet, shaky. There were three full seconds before the voice that Brent had wanted to hear for weeks spoke up on the other side.

“Hello.” Brent closed his eyes, swallowing thickly. Fuck, he was a goner. Just hearing his voice had made his shoulders relax. There was no way he was getting out of this.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep